Lime, a San Mateo, Calif.-based dockless bike and scooter company, is calling its launch in Atlanta earlier this year a success, after releasing data about the amount of riders the startup has garnered in six months.
After launching their scooters in Atlanta in June this year, Lime has served 85,000 riders in this city alone, according to a recent yearly report by the company.
"An increasing number of Atlantans are opting for two wheels instead of four, with 37 percent of riders using Lime to replace their most recent trip by car," the report states "The city’s increasing push to create bike lanes and complete streets is likely a reason why so many riders (two in five) report using Lime to commute to school or work."
About 17 percent of Lime riders in the A reported using the scooters to run errands or shop during their most recent ride. Forty percent of riders used the scooters to go to or from school or work during their last trip, and 35 percent scooted to their last entertainment or dining experience in the city.
Though ridership has clearly increased since Lime's launch, city council members in the City of Atlanta are still scrambling for solutions to the dockless trend that has swept the city. In the latest update, the city's proposed ordinance would classify e-scooters as shareable dockless mobility devices, which would require companies like Lime and Bird to acquire a $12,000 annual permit for a fleet of 500 and $50 per additional device, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
The scooters would have to be parked upright in designated areas, along with other requirements. The Atlanta City Council's pubic safety committee is reviewing the ordinance, which the city hopes to adopt sometime early next year. Both Lime and Bird have objected to the proposed cap on 1,000 scooters per company.
